Environment Canterbury (ECan) is proposing several variations to its regional land and water plan that will allow for increased nutrient and other pollution from irrigation and intensive agriculture on the Canterbury Plains. Commissioners are hearing submissions on Variation 1 to the proposed Land and Water Plan and I popped along to listen.

[...]

ECan’s proposed plan variation for the Selwyn-Waihora catchment allows for a major increase in nitrate pollution in shallow groundwater – up to 8.5 mg/l of nitrate-nitrogen. This is more than half what the World Health Organisation considers acceptable for drinking water and breaches the targets in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) as Dr Humphrey noted. ECan’s limit is not precautionary. It will allow nitrate levels to get too close to the unacceptable maximum for drinking water and prevent prompt remedial action such as changes in land use to reduce leaching.

Nitrate in drinking water can cause significant health effects including blue baby syndrome.

Basically they're putting cows before people, proposing a permanent contamination of groundwater (which people in Canterbury drink from) to allow more cows. A tiny minority of dairy farmers will make more profits, while the people of Canterbury will pay for it in water treatment costs and dead children.

That's what capitalism means under National: destroying our environment, and supporting the Mighty Cow on the backs of everybody else.

No wonder National destroyed Canterbury's democracy: because the people of Christchurch would never have voted to poison themselves for the enrichment of the few.